Square cone packaging for frozen confectionaries

ABSTRACT

A package for an edible, frozen confectionary. The package includes a sleeve having a closed end, a first conical portion adjacent the closed end and a second portion that is not conical positioned adjacent the first conical portion opposite the closed end, wherein the second portion forms an opening of the package. The second portion has a cross section that is rectilinear with rounded corners, and in particular has a cross section that is square with rounded corners. The package is used to deliver frozen confections and is configured to facilitate shipping. Also disclosed are methods for making the package.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a new package for conical products suchas ice cream or other novelties that have a generally conical shape. Thepackage includes a sleeve having a conical base portion and non-conical,rounded rectilinear top portion, and a cover. The rounded, rectilineartop portion of the packaging facilitates handling and in particularenables the shipment of multiple packages in an ordered arrangement in abox or other shipping container.

Currently, ice cream novelties typically include a wafer or sugar conethat retains the confection therein and that provides a shell for theuser to hold during consumption. Quite often, these cones have a roundcross section and taper either to a point at the bottom, or to a flatbottom surface. These novelties are often packaged in a paper sleevewhich conforms to the cone but which extends above the ball or mass ofice cream at the top of the cone. This paper sleeve continues the shapeof the cone until it terminates at a top portion that is generallycovered with a paper or plastic lid.

While these types of packaging are convenient to use, they result in apackaged product that is difficult to handle. Generally, a number ofsuch products are simply collected and placed into a box or othercontainer in random fashion. During shipping, the products are subjectto movement and possible damage or breakage. Also, such random packagingleads to an efficient use of the volume of the container. Thus,improvements in these types of packages are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a package for an edible, frozen confectionary,comprising a sleeve having a closed end, a first conical portionadjacent the closed end and a second portion that is not conicalpositioned adjacent the first conical portion opposite the closed end,wherein the second portion forms an opening of the package.Advantageously, the second portion has a cross section that isrectilinear with rounded corners, and in particular has a cross sectionthat is square with rounded corners.

Generally, the package will include a cover operatively associated withthe second portion and opening to close off the package. Preferably, thecover fits within the opening and contacts an inside surface of thesecond portion. The sleeve may be made of paper, foil, plastic or acombination or composite thereof. The lid may be made of the samematerials but preferably is made of plastic which can be transparent toallow the consumer to view the frozen confection therein.

The invention also relates to a combination comprising the packagedisclosed herein and a frozen confection therein, with the frozenconfection including a cake or wafer cone that holds the frozenconfection therein. The frozen confection typically includes a ball orexposed mass extending above the cone, and when so, the first conicalportion of the package surrounds the frozen confection cone, and thesecond non-conical portion surrounds the ball or exposed mass. Otherarrangements can be configured depending upon the shape of the frozenconfection and sleeve. Also, the sleeve of this combination preferablycomprises a cover operatively associated with the second portion andopening to close off the package.

The invention also relates to a method for making a package for anedible, frozen confectionary, which comprises forming a sleeve having afirst conical portion and a closed end; and forming a second portion ofthe sleeve in a shape that is not conical, with the second portionpositioned adjacent the first conical portion opposite the closed end,wherein the second portion forms an opening of the package. The secondportion may be formed by holding the sleeve while conforming the openingof the second portion to the desired shape with a tool. This isconveniently achieved by holding the sleeve in a rectilinear mold havingrounded corners, and introducing the tool into the opening to press itagainst the mold and conform the opening to the rectilinear shape of themold.

To complete the packaging operation, a frozen confection is insertedinto the formed sleeve through the opening. Typically, the methodfurther comprises closing the opening of the second portion to provide aclosed package. This is easily achieved by providing a lid or cover thatis operatively associated with the opening. In a preferred arrangement,the lid or cover is placed within the opening and contacts an insidesurface of the second portion to close the package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first package according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the package of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views of other packages according to theinvention, illustrating different covers;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mold for use in forming the secondportion of the sleeve;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mold with the sleeve situatedtherein and with a tool that is used to conform the sleeve to thedesired shape of the mold.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention relates to a new package preferably for frozenconfections. One embodiment of this package is illustrated in FIG. 1,wherein the package 10 is in the form of a closed sleeve 15 that iswrapped around a mold that is shaped in the form of the frozenconfection that it will package. The sleeve terminates in an end portion20 that is adhered to the wrapped portion of the sleeve that is locatedbeneath it to seal the package. The sleeve has a closed end 25, whichtypically terminates at a point and forms a bottom seal for the package.Instead of a point, the closed end can terminate in a flat wall that isformed by folding and gluing or otherwise adhering the wall to thesleeve. Typical adhesives are those that are acceptable for contact withfoodstuffs and these are generally known in the art. The sleeve istypically made of paper, foil, plastic or a combination or compositethereof. A paper/aluminum composite is preferred for simplicity as itcan retain its shape after being configured and because it can bereadily printed with advertising, tradenames or other indicia orinformation.

Adjacent the bottom or closed end 25, the sleeve has a first portion 30which extends from the bottom or closed end 25. This first portion 30 istypically conical but is required to conform to the shape of the frozenconfection configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the frozenconfection includes a conically shaped wafer or cake cone shell that isconfigured to hold an ice confection therein, and the first portion 30conforms closely to the shell with the outer surface of the cone of theshell being in full contact with the inner wall of the sleeve 15.

Extending from the first portion 30 of the sleeve is a second portion 35that is not conical. The second portion 35 is positioned adjacent thefirst conical portion 30 opposite the closed end 25, with the secondportion 35 forming an opening 40 of the package. While the first andsecond portions can be made of different materials that are adhered toor otherwise joined together to form a continuous sleeve, forconvenience, the second portion is integral with the first portion.Conveniently, these portions can be formed in a sleeve made of a singlematerial, such as the preferred paper/aluminum composite materialdisclosed herein.

In a preferred embodiment, the first portion extends along the entirecone of the frozen confection, while the second portion extends from thefirst portion and surrounds the ball or exposed mass of frozenconfection. For a frozen confection that is 125 to 175 mm tall, the coneis about 100 to 150 mm high and the ball or exposed mass of frozenconfection is about 25 to 50 mm tall. Thus, the first portion has a sizethat represents more than half of the height of the frozen confection,and in particular, is between about 65 to 90% and preferably about 70 to85% of the height of the frozen confection, while the second portionrepresents the balance of the height of the frozen confection, and inparticular, is between about 10 and 35% of the height of the frozenconfection and preferably about 15 to 30%.

As noted, the second portion has a cross-section that is not round andconical. Advantageously, the second portion has a cross section that isrectilinear, i.e., in the shape of a polygon, and preferably in theshape of a square or rectangle. While it is acceptable to have sharp ortruly intersecting polygonal corners, it is preferable to have roundedcorners to enable a good seal to be made between the sleeve and shell.In particular, the second portion of the sleeve preferably has across-section that is square with rounded corners and that increaseswith distance along the height from the end of the first portion.

To protect the frozen confection therein, the sleeve opening is providedwith a cover or lid 50 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. This lid may be madeof the same materials as the sleeve. In one embodiment, the lid can bemade of paper which is fit inside of the opening 40 to close thepackage. The lid can also engage the outer surface of the second portionof the sleeve to act as a cap. If desired or necessary, the lid can beadhered to the sleeve using an adhesive that is suitable for foodcontact. Alternatively, the lid can be placed into the sleeve by afriction fit that retains the lid therein until removed by the consumer.To assist in such removal, the lid can be provided with one or morerecesses 55 or other grasping means. Preferably, the lid is made of atransparent plastic to allow the consumer to view at least the ball orexposed mass of frozen confection therein.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate certain equipment that can be used to easilyfacilitate formation of the second portion of the sleeve. FIG. 4 shows amold 100 that has a desired shape which is intended to be imparted tothe second portion. In particular, this mold has a cavity with agenerally square configuration with rounded corners. The sleeve materialis placed into the mold, as shown in FIG. 5, and a forming tool 105having a forming head 110 is used to urge the material against the moldsurfaces and to deform the material so that it conforms to the desiredshape. When a paper/aluminum composite is used for the sleeve, it canreadily be conformed to the shape of the mold and it can retain thatshape after formation. The conical base of the sleeve, i.e., the firstportion, is placed into the mold 105 where it is supported during theforming operation on the second portion. The tool forming head 110 has aperimeter that corresponds to the desired cross-sectional shape of thesecond portion of the sleeve. The insertion of the tool into the sleevein cooperation with the configuration of the supporting mold results inthe forming of the second portion of the sleeve. As noted, the materialused for the sleeve is preferably one that retains the formed shape withthe aluminum/paper composite being preferred. The rectilinearcross-section of the second portion provides unexpected advantages inthe transport and shipping of the package and frozen confectionarytherein. That cross-section, being present near the opening of theproduct, allows the package to easily stand on that opening. Whenpackaging these products into a larger container, each product can bearranged so that they stand on the bottom of the container. The uprightstanding of the products enables the products to be built up in towersor on different levels, aerated by a sheet material such as cardboard,that is placed upon the closed ends of the products, thus facilitatingthe addition of a further level. This results in a convenient way tostore or display such products.

Alternatively, when one level of products are provided in an uprightposition, with each product placed as close together as possible to anadjacent product, then in would be possible to place other productsin-between the upstanding ones so that the container is packaged to beas fill as possible. These packaging arrangements are markedimprovements over current packaging, in that they are packaged in a moredense manner.

Other advantages and enhancements are readily discernable to a skilledartisan based on his or her review of the present application and it isintended that the appended claims cover all such embodiments andmodifications that are within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. A package for an edible, frozen confectionary, comprising a sleevehaving a closed end, a first conical portion adjacent the closed end anda second portion that is not conical positioned adjacent the firstconical portion opposite the closed end, wherein the second portionforms an opening of the package.
 2. The package of claim 1 wherein thesecond portion has a cross section that is rectilinear with roundedcorners.
 3. The package of claim 1 wherein the second portion has across section that is square with rounded corners.
 4. The package ofclaim 1 further comprising a cover operatively associated with thesecond portion and opening to close off the package.
 5. The package ofclaim 4 wherein the cover fits within the opening and contacts an insidesurface of the second portion.
 6. The package of claim 4 wherein thesleeve is made of paper, plastic, foil or a composite thereof, and thelid is made of plastic.
 7. A combination comprising the package of claim1 and a frozen confection therein, with the frozen confection includinga cake or wafer cone that holds the frozen confection therein.
 8. Thecombination of claim 7, wherein the frozen confection includes a ball orexposed mass extending above the cone, the first conical portion of thepackage surrounds the frozen confection cone, and the second non-conicalportion surrounds the ball or exposed mass.
 9. The combination of claim8, further comprising a cover operatively associated with the secondportion and opening to close off the package.
 10. A method for making apackage for an edible, frozen confectionary, which comprises: forming asleeve having a first conical portion and a closed end; and forming asecond portion of the sleeve in a shape that is not conical, with thesecond portion positioned adjacent the first conical portion oppositethe closed end, wherein the second portion forms an opening of thepackage.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second portion isformed by holding the sleeve while conforming the opening to the desiredshape with a tool.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sleeve isheld in a rectilinear mold having rounded corners while the tool havinga shape that corresponds to that which is desired for the second portionof the sleeve of is introduced into the opening to press the secondportion of the sleeve against the mold to conform the opening to therectilinear shape of the mold.
 13. The method of claim 11, which furthercomprises inserting a frozen confection into the formed sleeve throughthe opening.
 14. The method of claim 13 which further comprises closingthe opening of the second portion to provide a closed package.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the opening is closed by providing a lid orcover that is operatively associated with the opening.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the lid or cover is placed within the opening andcontacts an inside surface of the second portion to close the package.